The concluding prayer and sermon of the 42nd annual Biswa Ijtema will start at 12:20pm.

President Iajuddin Ahmed, Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed, advisory council members, two former prime ministers and other dignitaries are expected to join the prayer.

Muslims will raise hands standing on rooftops, open fields and roads stretched for several kilometres.

The authorities concerned set up loudspeakers from Uttara to Cherag Ali Market and Ashulia Road to facilitate devotees to take part in the prayer.

A dais has been erected in the northern part of the Ijtema field to arrange the concluding prayer.

Around four thousand foreign devotees from 65 countries around the world are also attending the three-day congregation on the bank of the river Turag in the suburban town of Tongi.

The Ijtema is being held under tight security by several thousand security personnel including Rapid Action Battalion members. Twenty-five magistrates are also performing Ijtema duties by rotation.

Meanwhile five people including a Malaysian national died yesterday, the second day of the event.

Malaysian citizen Jahi Mohammad Jane Abdur Rahman, 67, died at Asian Cardiology Hospital at Mohammadpur yesterday morning due to cardiac failure.

Abdul Jalil, 84, of Jhenidah, Abdur Razzak, 32, of Noakhali, Rafiqul Islam, 44, of Rajshahi and Faruq Ahmed, 42, of Manikganj also died on Friday night.

About 54 Ijtema attendees were admitted to different hospitals and clinics in Dhaka and Tongi.

Law enforcers arrested 64 pickpockets and snatchers from Ijtema ground yesterday.

For the first time in the history of Ijtema, female devotees were seen joining Ijtema with their guardians and near and dear ones despite the organisers' request not to enter the ground.

Talking to The Daily Star, a number of female participants demanded arrangements so that they can attend Ijtema from next year.

DOWRY FREE WEEDING
Like previous years, a dowry-free wedding ceremony was held at the Ijtema ground yesterday. Following the programme, the guardians of the newly married couples distributed dates among the participants.

WATER CRISIS
Devotees faced water crisis despite setting up of five deep tube-wells for supplying around 19 lakh gallons of water. People were seen selling water for ablution and bath for Tk 2-10.